LIHU’E — The Kapa‘a Warriors headed into Wednesday night’s game against Kaua‘i with a 1-1 record, trailing the undefeated Red Raiders (3-0). Both teams traded blows for awhile but the Warriors were able to get out on the run and
LIHU’E — The Kapa‘a Warriors headed into Wednesday night’s game against Kaua‘i with a 1-1 record, trailing the undefeated Red Raiders (3-0). Both teams traded blows for awhile but the Warriors were able to get out on the run and surge past Kaua‘i for the 55-42 win.
The first quarter saw both teams struggling to make headway on offense with no points being scored for nearly the first five minutes of the game. Things changed near the end of the quarter and both teams were answering back and forth with Kaua‘i narrowly hanging on to a 7-6 lead. The Red Raiders had the opportunity to move ahead further but missed chances inside the paint that would prove to be costly later in the game.
In the second quarter it turned into much more of a running game with both teams getting out on the fast break and scoring often. Neither team was able to grasp control of the game, with Jassem Cumlat leading the way for the Red Raiders and Lance Miyashiro answering for Kapa‘a. The score remained a tight 26-23 in favor of Kaua‘i.
The Warriors came out after half time and changed its pace, and its running game became effective against Kaua‘i. They got buckets in transition and Miyashiro gave the team a scoring presence inside the paint. Miyashiro finished with a game high of 17 points and played a complete game for the Warriors. He showed the ability to score from inside and outside as well as handle the ball in clutch situations. The Warrior fast break led Kapa‘a to take control in the third quarter and break away with a 44-35 lead heading into the final frame.
Kaua‘i suffered a big loss in the third when Cumlat appeared to have suffered a calf cramp and had to leave the game and did not return. The Red Raiders could never really recover after Cumlat went down — he finished with a team high 12 points.
Kapa‘a came out into the fourth with a more conservative approach as the team tried to kill time of the clock. Unfortunately for the Warriors, that mentality back fired and they let the Red Raiders make a small run and get back into the game. The run was keyed by Mikal Moranz, who finished with 11 points for Kaua‘i. The Red Raiders may have completed the comeback if it were not for their struggles at the free throw line, the team got ample opportunities from the charity stripe but could not convert enough to get back into the game.
The Warriors wisely got back out into its running mode and began pulling away from Kaua‘i and didn’t look back on its way to the win. Daniel Reis and Morean Clemente both added 8 points for the Warriors.
If Kapa‘a can continue to run effectively, the Warriors can prove to be a problem for any team it plays from here on out.
With the win Kapa‘a improves to 2-1 and will host the Waimea High School Menehune Saturday.
Kaua‘i took away its first loss of the season and slipped to 3-1 and will play in Waimea Wednesday.
In junior varsity action Kapa‘a got off to a slow start but eventually pulled away with an easy 62-42 win.
•Rick Killeen, Sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or sports@thegardenisland.com.
